The ethics of prescribing medications to older people

Abstract

The four principles of medical ethics-beneficence, nonmaleficence, autonomy, and justice-provide a pragmatic foundation and steadying influence to guide prescribing in older people where the evidence base for efficacy is uncertain and concerns regarding adverse drug reactions are protean. In most cases, the ethical principles are undermined not by intent, but more likely by lack of knowledge, not only in terms of the knowledge of the individual prescriber, but also the broader evidence and scientific knowledge that underlie geriatric pharmacology. Application of these ethical principles is paramount for those clinicians who publish and promote guidelines and recommendations about prescribing in older people because their capacity to do both good and harm influences the lives and health of many older people. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.